London June 20th – Sikoia, a B2B fintech that helps financial services providers automate their customer verification, is proud to announce its membership in the Equity Release Council, the industry body for the UK equity release sector. The decision comes at a pivotal time as the Council introduces significant updates to its Standards, enhancing customer protection and fostering innovation within the sector.

The Equity Release Council is dedicated to ensuring that customers who release equity from their homes can do so with confidence, knowing they are protected by robust standards and safeguards. Recent updates to its standard, including mandatory income and expenditure assessments by advisers, underscore the Council's commitment to enhancing customer outcomes.

As a new member, Sikoia brings its cutting-edge AI-powered platform to the table, offering automation solutions that streamline the equity release process. Sikoia’s platform is designed to simplify complex including affordability checks, income and employer verification, and processing customer application documents. This ensures advisers can deliver comprehensive and accurate advice efficiently.

“We're thrilled to join the Equity Release Council and help shape the future of the market,” said Alexis Rog, CEO at Sikoia. “Our technology aligns perfectly with the Council’s mission to enhance customer protection and support innovation. By automating time-intensive manual processes, we aim to help advisers deliver better outcomes for their clients while improving operational efficiencies.”

Jim Boyd, Equity Release Council CEO, said: “By joining the Council Sikoia is demonstrating that it is committed to delivering high standards of consumer protection and good consumer outcomes.

“Their expertise in artificial intelligence and data analytics will undoubtedly bring fresh insights and value to our sector.”

By leveraging its expertise in AI and automation, Sikoia is committed to supporting the Council’s initiatives to uphold high standards and drive positive change in the industry.

For more information on how Sikoia’s platform can streamline your equity release processes and enhance customer service, please contact our team or visit our website for a quick demo.

About Sikoia: 

Sikoia is an enterprise SaaS platform that transforms customer verification for financial services. It centralizes and standardizes customer data, enabling consistent decision-making and automation of onboarding processes. Sikoia not only delivers substantial productivity savings but also generates valuable insights, ultimately enhancing the customer experience for financial institutions. Sikoia solutions seamlessly integrate into existing systems via API or can be used through a ready-to-use Customer Evaluation Dashboard.

About the Equity Release Council:

The Equity Release Council is the representative trade body for the UK equity release sector with more than 750 member firms and 1,800 individuals registered, including providers, funders, regulated financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors and other professionals.

It leads a consumer-focused UK based equity release market by setting authoritative standards and safeguards for the trusted provision of advice and products. Since 1991, more than 650,000 homeowners have accessed £46bn of property wealth via Council members to support their finances. 

The Council also works with government, voluntary and public sectors, and regulatory, consumer and professional bodies to inform and influence debate about the use of housing wealth in later life and retirement planning.

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